Alex Trelinski
THE online accommodation reservation platform Booking.com has been stung with a massive €413.2 million fine for abusing its dominant position in the Spanish market.
The penalty is over double the previous highest fine handed by Spain’s competition body, the CNMC, which totalled €203 million to civil works companies in 2022.
The verdict and penalty can be appealed before the National Court in Madrid.
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In 2021, the Spanish Association of Hotel Directors and the Madrid Hotel Business Association denounced Booking for abusing its market status.
The following year, the CNMC initiated disciplinary proceedings which concluded that the Dutch-based abused its position of ‘exploitative’ dominance by imposing several unfair commercial terms on hotels in Spain.
It said Booking from at least January 2019 to the present day imposed unfair terms on hotels that used its reservation services and restricted competition from other online travel businesses that offered a similar service.
During the period of the CNMC probe, Booking had a market share in Spain that varied between 70% and 90%.
Unfair predatory tactics were used on hotels, including a price clause, which prevents them from offering their rooms on their own websites below the price they offer on Booking.
The company also reserved the right to unilaterally lower the price that hotels offered through their own website or app.
The CNMC also slammed the lack of transparency in information on the impact and profitability of subscribing to the Booking’s Preferred, Preferential Plus and Genius programmes, which allow hotels to improve their ranking positioning in Booking website searches.
That comes in exchange for a higher commission or to offer discounts on the best-selling or cheapest room that the hotel has on the accommodation platform.
The CNMC also commented on Booking’s ‘exclusionary’ dominant position by restricting the competition by other competing online travel agencies as it encouraged hotels to concentrate their online bookings solely via Booking.com
It also criticised that if there was a contractual despite, Spanish hotels could not use local courts for litigation but instead pay more to use the legal system in the Netherlands, where the company is based.
There has been no comment so far from Booking.
